One Direction, Two City Gates

As the Shrek Academy group descended the mountain, no one spoke. Qin Ming quickly caught up, walking silently behind Flender. Yet the livid look on his face showed just how terrible his mood was.

"I'm sorry, Dean." Qin Ming felt somewhat guilty toward Flender as well.

Flender hurriedly helped him up. "Qin Ming, what are you doing? How could I not know how you feel about Shrek Academy? The fact that you chose to leave with us is enough to prove that you have always placed Shrek Academy above everything else. That is enough. I should be the one apologizing. We ruined your future."

"My future? Without the guidance of the teachers back then, where would I have gotten a future? I have hands and feet. Does leaving Heaven Dou Royal Academy mean I can no longer survive?"

"Still, I have a question. What is the deal with that Duke? Even a Prince like Xue Xing was suppressed by him." Yu Xiaogang frowned.

In his eyes, Wriothesley had likewise been added to the list of those doomed to die. Yet as a Soul Grandmaster, he knew perfectly well that with his current strength, if they really fought, he would only be throwing his life away.

So he could only nurture Tang San. Once Tang San became a Title Douluo, he would be the teacher of a Title Douluo. By then, forget some insignificant Duke—even the emperor would have to show him respect.

Of course, that depended on one condition.

Tang San had to grow strong enough.

Qin Ming sighed. "That Duke truly is no simple character. In a sense, Duke is not actually Mr. Wriothesley's title. It is a term of respect others use for him."

"A term of respect?" Ma Hongjun, who had made the biggest fuss earlier, looked utterly confused. If it was not a title, then what was it?

Yu Xiaogang and the others also wore puzzled expressions.

Were there really people who were not Dukes but liked being called Dukes?

Had he become addicted to wanting to be a noble?

He asked, "Why is it a term of respect?"

"Because..." Qin Ming did not know how to explain it to them. "You'll understand once we reach Heaven Dou City."

Ning Rongrong bit her lip at the side, seemingly lost in thought.

Flender nodded at this and looked toward the other teachers. "Let's go. We'll find somewhere to settle down in Heaven Dou City first."

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was indeed very close to Heaven Dou City. Carrying their frustration, the group had not walked for long before arriving at the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

From afar, they could already see the flags fluttering atop the city walls. As one of the two largest and most prosperous cities on the continent, Heaven Dou City's walls stood a hundred meters high, entirely built from the hardest granite. Soldiers patrolling and standing guard both above and below the walls wore full armor and carried long spears. The killing intent emanating from them showed how elite they were.

The towering main gate was ten meters tall and ten meters wide, enough for six riders to pass abreast. Two smaller side gates stood beside it, each five meters in height and width. Pedestrians could only enter through the side gates, while the central gate remained tightly shut.

But that was not the problem. To the right of one side gate was a—hole—even larger than the main gate!

Calling it a hole was already being conservative. The thing had directly split apart an otherwise continuous stretch of city wall.

Although many craftsmen were repairing it, the damage to the wall was still clear to see. It was an enormous gap.

"What happened here?" Dai Mubai stared wide-eyed at the massive breach.

This clearly was not something human strength could accomplish. With such destructive power, even a power-attack Title Douluo could not create this much damage.

Flender exchanged glances with the other teachers, and astonishment inevitably surfaced on their faces.

Before entering Heaven Dou City, they had imagined what it might look like, but they had never imagined that a city could have such a huge breach in its walls.

Most importantly, the people around them seemed accustomed to it. Aside from the craftsmen making repairs, everyone else appeared completely unconcerned by the enormous gap.

"This is why everyone calls him Duke." Seeing the breach, Ning Rongrong seemed to recall some terrifying memory, and disbelief filled her eyes.

As soon as she spoke, the Shrek Academy group all looked at her. Qin Ming, who knew the truth, did not dare say much either.

This young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had also been one of the people involved back then.

"Rongrong. You... You don't mean that Duke made this breach in the city wall, do you?" Peach-blossom-eyed Oscar stared at Ning Rongrong in shock, while the others were equally horrified.

This was no small matter. If this gap had truly been made by a single person, that person would need at least the strength of a Title Douluo.

No, perhaps even an ordinary Title Douluo could not achieve this. They would need to be at least Rank 95 or above.

In other words, that Duke was at least a Rank 95 Title Douluo.

The moment Ma Hongjun thought about how disrespectful he had been before a Title Douluo just now, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

Dai Mubai was the same.

Thinking about how they had just taken a trip through the gates of hell, he could not help feeling fortunate.

As for Xiao Wu, she was terrified.

After all, the other party was a Title Douluo, someone who could see through her true form.

If he saw through her true form, would he skin her alive and eat her?

Although those present did not consider Xiao Wu an ordinary girl, in the truest sense, she was not human.

She simply had not said it aloud. Otherwise, Ma Hongjun and the others would likely have been scared weak in the knees long ago.

Although Title Douluo could no longer absorb Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, there were still Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones!

"It's over, it's over."

Perhaps he had not exposed her on the spot because he intended to wait until there were fewer people before killing the beast and taking her bones?

The terror in their eyes made Tang San's heart pound. It seemed their confidence had suffered too great a blow.

Sure enough, even Flender could not help asking, "Just how strong is this Duke?"

When he asked that question, he actually did not hold much hope. Qin Ming had already said they could do nothing against him.

Ning Rongrong's face grew even paler. Looking at the enormous gap, her face was filled with disbelief as she said softly, "I remember it was three years ago. My father heard that there was a physician in Heaven Dou City who treated illnesses without charging money, so he wanted to take a look. But Bone Grandpa couldn't resist sparring with Duke."

"So this wall..." Zhu Zhuqing did not finish, but everyone could guess what she meant.

Ning Rongrong nodded slightly. "That's right. Duke threw only one punch. Even with Bone Grandpa fully prepared, that one punch sent him flying. Most importantly, he did not use his Martial Soul."

"This..." The Shrek Academy group had not expected such a terrifying outcome.

Naturally, they knew who Ning Rongrong meant by "Bone Grandpa."

One of the two supreme elders of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the defense-type Super Douluo Gu Rong.

Even that man could not withstand a single punch from Wriothesley without him activating his Martial Soul. One could only imagine how powerful he truly was.

But the most important thing was that they had offended him!

Wasn't that terrible? Were they not doomed?

Was there still time to return to Suotuo City?

As for Zhu Zhuqing, who had maintained a low profile ever since joining the academy, no one knew what she was thinking at this moment.